Free voter IDs won't be ready for some Missouri elections

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft says the state won't have free identifications required by a new state law ready in time for a special election in July.

But Ashcroft says provisions in the law, which took effect Thursday, will allow every eligible voter to cast a ballot.

A state constitutional amendment approved by Missouri voters last November requires photo IDs for voting, with some exceptions. Voters without proper identification can cast provisional ballots.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/2reQoGw) St. Louis residents will vote July 11 to fill St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's seat on the Board of Aldermen. And special elections are scheduled in August for vacant Missouri House and Senate seats.